Shipping containers including end caps and a wall member extending between the end caps are well known in the art. Commonly, the end caps of such containers are provided with means for receiving the forks of a forklift truck for facilitating the lifting and transporting of the containers. Preferably, these shipping containers, or palletized containers, are relatively low in cost and are able to adequately protect the products contained therein from shipping and/or handling damage.
Limitations associated with palletized containers of the prior art relate to the security of the locked relationship of the end cap and wall member, to the ease of accessibility to the locking means for locking or unlocking the end cap to the wall member and to the protection of the locking means during storage and transit. Locking means of a prior art container, for example, may be inadvertently actuated from a locked condition to an unlocked condition as a result of vibrational or stress-related forces to which the locking means may be exposed during lifting or transport of the container. Moreover, such locking means may be positioned about the container so that access to the locking means for purposes of locking or unlocking the end cap from the wall member is difficult. Still further, the means by which the end cap is locked to the wall member may be exposed in such a manner that the locking means could be damaged when containers of like construction are stacked next to one another or when moved into or out of a storage location or a shipping vehicle. Yet still further, some of the end cap locking means of prior art containers include a component that must be destroyed in order that the end cap be removed, and are thus not reusable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a palletized container having a sidewall-defining member and an end cap for attachment to the sidewall-defining member and improved means for locking the end cap to the sidewall-defining member.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a container having end cap locking means which resists inadvertent actuation from a locked condition to an unlocked condition.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a container having locking means for the end cap which is easily accessible from one side of the container.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a container having locking means for the end cap which is not susceptible to damage as the container is stacked or moved from one location to another.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a container having improved means for locking the end cap to or unlocking the end cap from the sidewall-defining member of the container without the need for tools and which does not involve a component that must be destroyed in order for the end cap to be removed from the sidewall-defining member.